The Latest: UN Security Council to discuss Iran’s deadly protests after US request

The U.N. Security Council convened an emergency meeting Thursday to address Iran’s deadly protest crackdown at the request of the United States, as tensions between Washington and Tehran remain high amid uncertainties about potential U.S. intervention.

Tehran has begun making conciliatory statements in an apparent effort to defuse the situation after President Donald Trump threatened action to halt further violence against protesters, including those facing execution in what has become Iran’s bloodiest crackdown in decades.

According to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, at least 2,615 people have been killed during the government’s response to nationwide protests. This death toll surpasses any period of unrest in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that established the current theocratic regime.

The sound of gunfire diminished Thursday in Tehran as the country temporarily closed its airspace to commercial flights without explanation. Some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate, while the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait ordered its personnel to temporarily halt travel to military bases in that Gulf nation.

The crackdown has drawn international condemnation, with the European Union considering stronger sanctions against Iranian officials. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that current sanctions are “weakening the regime,” and that the EU is looking to target individual Iranians responsible for what she termed “atrocities.” Von der Leyen emphasized that Iranians “bravely fighting for change” have the EU’s “full political support.”

In a joint statement, foreign ministers from G7 nations expressed grave concern about the situation, condemning “the deliberate use of violence” by Iranian security forces. The coalition warned it stands ready to “impose additional restrictive measures” if Iran continues its crackdown on dissent and protests.

The violence has claimed international victims, including a Canadian citizen who died “at the hands of the Iranian authorities,” according to Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies also announced that a local staff member, Amir Ali Latifi, was killed while working in Iran’s Gilan province.

President Trump hailed as “good news” reports that the death sentence had been lifted for Erfan Soltani, a 26-year-old Iranian shopkeeper arrested during the protests. Iranian state media, however, denied Soltani had been condemned to death, saying he was being held in a detention facility outside the capital on charges of “propaganda activities against the regime.”

Trump, who earlier this week pledged that “help is on its way” to Iranian protesters, signaled a possible de-escalation Wednesday, saying he had been told “the killing in Iran is stopping.”

Regional reactions have been mixed, with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan explicitly stating opposition to any foreign military intervention in Iran. “Iran must address its own internal problems… through diplomacy,” Fidan told journalists in Istanbul, attributing the unrest primarily to economic conditions caused by sanctions rather than ideological opposition to the government.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, who reportedly said the situation was “now stable.” Wang affirmed that “China opposes imposing its will on other countries” and expressed belief that “the Iranian government and people will unite, overcome difficulties, maintain national stability, and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests.”

The regional impact of the unrest is becoming increasingly apparent. Europe’s largest airline group, Lufthansa, announced it would halt night flights to and from Tel Aviv and Jordan’s capital Amman for five days, citing security concerns. The airline group also said its planes would bypass Iranian and Iraqi airspace, key corridors for air travel between the Middle East and Asia.

Religious rituals in Baghdad commemorating the death of Imam Musa al-Kadhim have seen a notable absence of Iranian pilgrims who typically attend in large numbers. Local hotel owner Adel Zaidan noted that “the number of Iranian visitors this year compared to previous years was very small,” reflecting the ongoing crisis.

New Zealand has joined international condemnation, with Foreign Minister Winston Peters stating the government was “appalled by the escalation of violence and repression” in Iran and had expressed “serious concerns” to the Iranian Embassy in Wellington.